Short mat bowls

Short mat bowls is an indoor sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a heavy ball along a fairly flat surface, to gain as many shots as possible by getting their bowls nearer to the jack than their opponents, and so outscore them. The game is a modern variation on lawn bowls, from which the game is derived.

History

The origin of the short mat bowls game is uncertain, but one story is that it was first played in Wales by two South Africans who came to work in the area. They had played bowls outdoors in South Africa and, perhaps due to the poor climate and the long close season in Wales, they began to play a simulation of the outdoor game on a strip of carpet in a church hall. Some time later, they moved to Northern Ireland and took the new game with them. Rules and conditions of play were drawn up and the game soon became well established in the Province. It was introduced into England by Irish expatriates, but development was slow until the 1980s when its potential as a low cost sport for people of all ages was realised.^[1] The English Short Mat Bowling Association (ESMBA) was formed in 1984, and is now the governing body of the sport in England.^[2] The sport is administered in England at two levels, the ESMBA oversee administration of the National Championships and Inter County Championships in addition to running the National Squad. At a more local level, 28 County Associations arrange a series of League, One Day and Knockout competitions within their own geographical area. In 2009, the ESMBA launched a new National Club Championship event. The Final's Day was played at Rugby Thornfield with Kirby Bedon of Norfolk beating Warren Heath of Essex in the final. In 2010, Donnington of Cambridgeshire were the winners followed by Bob Carter of Norfolk in 2011. In 2012, the title was won by a side outside East Anglia for the first time when Cheshire's Morley Green lifted the title. The latest figures from the ESMBA puts membership at 25,211 bowlers in 928 clubs. The ESMBA rules of the game are followed by the affiliated clubs and also by most others. Most clubs arrange competitions among their own members as well as allowing time for those not wishing to take part in competitions to enjoy informal bowling.

Equipment

The ESMBA specify a rink mat length of 40–45 ft (12–14 m) with a width of 6 ft (1.8 m). The mat is foam or rubber-backed, and has the required lines permanently marked. A fender is placed at both ends to keep the bowls from rolling off the mat. A block sits in the middle of the mat; players have to avoid having their bowls hit the block on their way down the mat. The 'jack' is the target that sits near the end of the mat.^[3]

Venues

Short mat bowls is played indoors, so it is an all-year sport that is not affected by weather conditions. Because the equipment is transportable and easy to set up, it is particularly appropriate for locations that are also used for other purposes such as village halls, schools, and sports and social clubs; it is even played on North Sea oil rigs.

How the game is played

Short mat bowls is very similar to lawn bowls in that the object is for each player, or team, to take turns rolling bowls (balls) down a mat in an attempt to get as many of the bowls as possible closer to the target (the 'jack') than the opponent.^[4] The main difference is in the size of the playing area and the presence of the block midway down the rink mat. The presence of the block prevents players from knocking their opponents' bowls away from the jack by sheer force; players are required to use the natural bias of the bowls to maneuver around the block. Any bowls that touch the block, or land in the ditch or dead area, are dead and are removed before the next bowl. The skill in playing short mat bowls comes from the bias of the ball and the inconsistent playing surface; both the performance of the rink mat and the floor surface can vary between matches in different venues. A general description of different bowls games, including short mat bowls, is maintained at bowls.org.uk.^[5]

World Short Mat Bowls Council Championships

Year	Venue	Singles Champion	Fours Champions *	Pairs Champions *	Triples Champions *
2016	Leigh, England	Raymond Stubbs (IRE)	Derick Wilson, Jonny Wilson, Eddie Campbell, Andrew Leckey (IRE)	Peter Hore, Christopher Willies (ENG)	Derek McCallion, Mark Sproule, Aiden Corrigan (IRE)
2014	Cardiff, Wales	To be updated
2012	Ballymoney, Northern Ireland	Stephen Williams (WAL)	Kevin Conroy, Fra Dillon, Michael Hand, Billy Taffe (IRE)	Dave Newsome, Ben Render (ENG)	Paddy Hanlon, Gerry McCabe, John Murnahan (IRE)
2010	Dumfries, Scotland	Stephen Williams (WAL)	Ronnie Stubbs, Gordon Stubbs, Keith Morrison, Raymond Stubbs (IRE)	DJ Wilson, J Wilson (IRE)	Glen Smith, Damian McElroy, Colum McHugh (IRE)
2008	Herentals, Belgium	Colum McHugh (IRE)	Leigh Hall, Trevor Brown, Craig Burgess, Stephen McAllister (ENG)	Babs Morokutti, Jody Frampton (ENG)	Simon Pridham, James Smith, Lee Toleman (ENG)
2006	Hopton-on-Sea, England	Chris Grocott (ENG)	Paul Hudson, D Hudson, Ben Haddon, Richard Hinkin (WAL)	James Trott, Mark White (ENG)	James Smith, Simon Pridham, Lee Toleman (ENG)

Short Mat Players Tour

The Short Mat Players Tour (SMPT),^[6] set up by Craig Burgess and Simon Pridham, runs six world-class singles competitions all over Europe.

Year	UK Open	Irish Open	Norwegian Open	Swedish Masters	English Masters	World Masters
2016-17	Lawrence Moffat (SCO)	Alan Paul (NIR)	Mark Beattie (NIR)	P.J. Gallagher (IRE)	Joseph Beattie (NIR)	Joseph Beattie (NIR)
2015-16	Gary McNabb (NIR)	Dimitri Payne (BEL)	Joel Häger (SWE)	Marcus Almén (SWE)	James Bucknall (ENG)	Gary Burke (NIR)
2014-15	Robert Martin (ENG)	PJ McCrossan (NIR)	Mark Beattie (NIR)	Cecil Dillon (NIR)	Stephen Williams (WAL)	Mark Beattie (NIR)
2013-14	Joseph Beattie (NIR)	Andrew Leckey (NIR)	Chris Mann (ENG)	Joseph Beattie (NIR)	Cecil Dillon (NIR)	Gerry McCabe (IRE)
2012-13	Mark Beattie (NIR)	Was not played	Jonathan Payne (BEL)	Morten-Andre Coll (NOR)	Joseph Beattie (NIR)	Alan Paul (NIR)
2011-12	Was not played	Was not played	Was not played	Was not played	Jonathan Payne (BEL)	Was not played

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit is produced from the six ranking events on the Short Mat Players Tour. The player ranked number 1 at the end of the season will be awarded the Short Mat Players Tour Order of Merit sponsored by Henselite Bowls UK.

Year	Order of Merit Champion
2016-17	Dimitri Payne (BEL)
2015-16	Joel Hager (SWE)
2014-15	Mark Beattie (NIR)
2013-14	Cecil Dillon (NIR)
2012-13	Mark Beattie (NIR) /  Joel Hager (SWE)

International Short Mat Open

The International Open was the biggest open competition in Short Mat Bowls when it first started in 2010. The competition was organised by Craig Burgess and Barry Hedges of Essex; both of the trophies awarded are in memory of their fathers, John Burgess and David Hedges. The inaugural event was held at Kempston Indoor Bowls Club, Bedford, England, and had the biggest gathering of short mat bowls talent from all over Europe including England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Belgium and Sweden. In subsequent years, the John Burgess Trophy became a pairs event instead of the original triples format. The event finished in 2013.

Year	Venue	John Burgess Trophy	David Hedges Trophy
2013	Havering Indoor Bowls Club, Essex	Allan Williams & James Trott (ENG)	Peter Fautley, Tony Elham, Steve Killington & Anthony Fautley (ENG)
2012	Havering Indoor Bowls Club, Essex	Joseph Newsome & Ben Render (ENG)	Sarah Beynon, Arwel Morgan, Tom Jones & Luke Haddon (WAL)
2011	Havering Indoor Bowls Club, Essex	Jack Shepherd & Chris Willies (ENG)	Steve Proctor, Andrew Beard, Gareth Stanway & Grant Soller (ENG)
2010	Kempston Indoor Bowls Club, Bedford	Marty Trainor, Alan Paul & Kevin Conroy (IRE)	Liam McHugh, Keith McCullagh,Damian McElroy & Colum McHugh (IRE)

St Georges Cup - (North v South)

The St Georges Cup began in 2011, with 32 players from the North of England against 32 players from the South of England in a Ryder Cup-style event.

English Inter County Championship Winners

References

External links

• Short mat bowls rules and equipment